Halloween Songs [1]

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 31 Oct 97 - 04:42 PM

Hi, Jerry - I think we're saying the same thing, but with different words. I think you're right, though - a word other that "elf-king" would be more suitable. I doubt that Santa Claus would have anything to do with the Erlkönig. What makes it particularly difficult to translate is that "Erl" is not a German word - as far as I can determine, the only place it appears in the German language is in reference to this poem. Wolfgang, what image comes to your mind when you think of Erlkönig?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Wolfgang
Date: 04 Nov 97 - 06:15 AM

second attempt at a lasting response:

I asked about 50 students what comes to their minds when they hear "Erlkönig". Nearly all of them gave the response "the poem", none of them wanted to define what an Erlkönig might be. Few additonal responses were "a car" (also correct: "Erlkönig" is used in recent years for cars tested on the streets before they can be bought; the link is: they are only tested in fog and night when nobody can spot ot photograph them).

"Erle" is German for alder tree (that was my association as a boy and I pictured him as a wobbling ghost behind foggy alder trees), but I have no idea whether there is a connection.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Moira Cameron
Date: 04 Nov 97 - 11:46 AM

I know this is late for Hallowe'en song suggestions, but I only thought of this one yesterday. I don't know why it didn't occur to me before now, because it's perfect for this time of year. It's the Child Ballad 'Binnorie'. Talk about spooky ghost stories. I just love this one.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Nov 97 - 12:27 PM

I don't know if you're right, Wolfgang, but I can pictured a spooky night, with the wind shaking the yellow alder leaves, and the moon reflecting on the silvery trunks of the alders. I'm scared already.
But what we really need is a Dane to tell us what an "ellerkonge" is.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jon W.
Date: 04 Nov 97 - 06:20 PM

If I may hazard a guess, and it's just that, I would guess that the Danish/German elves are equivalent to what the Irish called fairies. They aren't the innocent little creatures who make the leaves frosty, nor the heroes of JRR Tolkien's works, nor the clever Santa's helpers, but nasty, powerful, mean folks that are always up to no good, stealing babies and leaving changlings in their place, kidnapping maidens, etc. This seems to fit with the tone of Goethe's poem better.

BTW, the late Carl Sagan conjectured that the current rash of "alien abduction" stories parallels the "fairy abduction" stories of the middle (or dark?) ages.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 04 Nov 97 - 06:47 PM

I don't know much about it either, but I'm sure the elves weren't ALWAYS up to no good. All (or most of) the Germanic first names beginning with Al and El refer to the elves--Alfred = elf-rede (= elf-advice), Albert = elf-bright, Elwyn = elf-friend, etc.

If I remember right, Norse mythology had both elves, who lived in Alfheim, and black elves, who lived in Svartalfheim. I THINK it was the black elves who were part of the origin of Tolkien's "dwarves" (for instance in the story of the Brisingamen).

Thanks for the information, Wolfgang!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: judy
Date: 05 Nov 97 - 01:43 AM

Moira,

Great thread adds are never too late.

I'm sure there are forums like this for the storytellers. Wait a minute, I've got some links myself in my bookmarks: http://members.aol.com/storypage/sources.htm

Never enough time to find out everything one would like to know. Here's a newsgroup for Halloween: news.alt.folklore.ghost-stories

judy

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Wolfgang
Date: 05 Nov 97 - 04:02 AM

I looked it up in a very big ethymological dictionary: It says that "Erlkönig" is nothing but a mistaken translation from the Danish "ellerkonge" (which would explain why this word only appears in a single poem). The correct translation would have been "Elfenkönig" (Elfen are mostly considered nasty, as Jon conjectures). The Danish words for elf (Elfe) and alder (Erle) are said to be quite similar which makes the mistake understandable. Can some of the Scandinavians say if this is true?

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Wolfgang
Date: 05 Nov 97 - 07:57 AM

etymological, of course

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: alison
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 08:54 PM

refresh for Hummingbird

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From:
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 09:22 PM

Thanks Alison!!!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: kendall
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 01:06 PM

I learned one as a small boy done in a minor key of course..

Jack-o-lantern burns his candle
Witches on their broom sticks ride
By the Jack-o-lantern's light.

Owls upon the waving tree tops hoot through the windy night
Goblins dance on Halloween by the Jack-o-lantern's light.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 01:26 PM

Alison, there was a thread awhile back with the midi for "Anne Boleyn"- I'll see if I can find it later when I'm not at work! I'm teaching it to my 5th graders ( 10-11 yr olds) with a few verses left out, and they love it! I let them choose an American football team, and it gets pretty funny when the sentries mistake one of their favorite players with Anne Boleyn.

Someone wanted to know what songs appeal to kids. I'm running into a new problem over the past few years- more and more conservative parents don't want their children to hear any reference to witches, ghosts, etc. It makes a challenge to come up with seasonal songs (I WON'T just ignore H'ween!) that are spooky without being threatening to them. So: The horseman, by Marilyn Davidson, the Twa Corbies, Anne Boleyn's ok for some reason, because I teach it in the context of a music hall comedy song- it gets challenging!

Subject: Lyr Add: BLOODY WELL DEAD^^^
From: Blackcat2
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 01:35 PM

Joyous Samhain yall

the aformentioned song "Look At the Coffin"

is on a Clancy Brothers album entitled "Bloody Well Dead"

I tend to do it with a added verse that speaks to the possiblility that the song is from the dead man (or men) in the coffins who are impatient to be at a party that goes on interminally without the chance of a drink.

Look at the coffin with golden handles
Isn't it grand boys to be bloody well dead.

Chorus:
Let's not have a sniffle, let's all have a bloody good cry,
And always remember the longer you live, the sooner you'll bloody well die.

Look at the flowers, all bloody withered

Look at the mourners, bloody great hypocrites,
Look at the preacher, bloody sanctimonius,
Look at the widow bloody great female,

Look at our corpses - all bloody rotting

pax

Subject: Lyr Add: THE TOWER GHOST^^
From: Ely
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 03:44 PM

I had a Clancy Brothers recording of that nonsense song that ends " . . . 'twas like a pen-knife in my back, and when my back began to bleed, I was dead and dead indeed", which I always thought was really creepy.

My kindergarten teacher used to write children's songs on the side. This was always one of my favorites (bear with me, I thought it was terribly clever when I was seven).

THE TOWER GHOST

There's a house in old San Francisco,
That has a tower with blue-painted windows,
And at night as the fog rolls in off the bay,
And the dishes from supper are washed and away,
We sit in the parlor till twenty past ten . . .
And wait for the sounds of the night to begin,
For the sounds of the night to begin.

CHORUS:
The neighbors all tell the same story,
Of a man who was hanged in the tower,
Though no-one was there at the scene of his death,
They do know the time that he breathed his last breath,
And I don't need to tell you, for I'm certain you've guessed!
Twenty past ten was the hour,
That he hanged himself in the tower.

First comes a thud . . . and the comes a bump,
And then, sounds of footsteps that scramble and jump,
We hear floorboards creaking and right over head,
Comes a scratching of fingers from under the bed,
So we rush to the stairway and turn on the light . . .
And the noises all stop for the rest of the night,
They're gone for the rest of the night.

[Chorus]

On Sunday and Monday and Tuesday he came,
On Wednesday and Thursday, it all was the same,
The fingernails scratching, the thuds and the bumps,
The floorboards a-creaking, the scrambles and jumps,
Till I finally decided to take it no more . . .
I did something I'd not done before,
When I could finally stand it no more.

[Chorus]

On Friday I waited for the ghost to come in,
And when he arrived at twenty past ten,
I rushed to the window and opened it wide,
And, sticking my head through, I looked right outside,
And, suddenly, came face-to-face with the ghost!
I don't know who was frightened the most,
Was it me or was it the ghost?

[Chorus]

There's a house in old San Francisco,
That has a tower with blue-painted windows,
And each night on the roof-top, by the light of the moon,
Comes a ghostly . . . ghastly . . .
Raccoon!

---

HTML line breaks added. -JoeClone 23-Feb-01.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Ely
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 03:48 PM

Oops-- the above was written by Kipp Bentley, Denver, Colorado, in the early 1980's (I learned it when I was a student of his in 1984).

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: kendall
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 03:57 PM

Look at the choir, bloody great tonsils...
Look at the widow, bloody great female

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Genie
Date: 26 Oct 01 - 10:30 PM

Well, it may not be folk, but I like to do That Old Black Magic when Halloween rolls around -- as close to Louis Prima's version as I can muster (though I can't begin to do it like he did, more's the pity).
Genie

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,farvrit
Date: 28 Oct 01 - 06:27 PM

There's a cd called haunted house with tunes from Fats Waller and Other Jazz artists. Also, there's a kind of Western swing tune whose name escapes me but the chorus goes like this

"Oh Lord help your wayward child" Old honest Joe did Moan.
I don't wanna be with this here ghost; I'd rather be alone.
It's not that I'm afraid; I'm just not having fun.
My head tells me to stay right here, but my feet tell me to run.

It's a fun song.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,mr.zog
Date: 29 Oct 01 - 12:51 PM

I play a special Halloween set every year, and throw in as many murder ballads as I can:

The Cruel Mother
The Knoxville Girl
The Long Black Veil
The Housewife's Lament
Willow Garden
Father's Grave
The Ship That Never Returned
Next Week Sometime

...... and on and on. bluegrass is a great source for these tunes; perhaps my favorite this year is Monroe's "the little girl and the dreadful snake"

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: open mike
Date: 29 Oct 01 - 02:14 PM

for kids:
Tom Hunter's Monster in the Closet

there's a monster in the closet; the ghosts are on the wall,
so why do you keep on telling me there's nothing there at all?
I know they're there, it's clear to me, I see them every night,
and all I want is when I'm scared you come and hold me tight...

two more verses....

also Charlotte Diamond has a spoken word piece:
LOOKING FOR DRACULA--
with hand motions signifying
capes, binoculars,
and sounds of footsteps,
squishy mud and quicksand,

etc.....do not have total words for either
on hand at this time....
does anyone else?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Country Ghoul
Date: 12 Oct 02 - 05:18 AM

Any new suggestions?

Subject: Lyr/Chords/Tune Add: HALLOWEEN (Farinda/Blackburn)
From: Joan from Wigan
Date: 14 Oct 02 - 09:41 AM

Some time ago I was given a raft of poetry to try to put to music. Here's a seasonal one:

HALLOWEEN
(Words: Farinda; Tune: Joan Blackburn)

'Tis the [D]sacred [G]night of [A7]Hallow[D]een
The [Bm]Goddess looks [Em]down with [A7]silvery [D]gleam
On Children [G]gathered up[A7]on this [D]night
When [Bm]"good folks" [Em]take to their [A7]beds in [D]fright

Chorus:
[Bm]Children of the Moon [F#m]worship in love
The [G]form of the Goddess [A7]floating a[D]bove
But not just [G]us are a[A7]broad this [D]eve
[Bm]Others [Em]join us as [A7]spells we [D]weave
Friends from times [G]past gather [A7]here once [D]more
To [Bm]share this [Em]Festival of the [A7]Open [D]Door

Love and laughter go out on this night
To loved ones and friends not quite out of sight
And then the time arrives once more
To say goodbye and close the door

Children of the Moon...

Incense wafts between now and then
All around the wooded glen
The rite is ended, the circle broken
As if from a dream we all are woken

Children of the Moon...

Repeat first verse and chorus again.

X:1
T:Halloween
M:4/4
K:D
AA|A3dB3G|E2AGF3F|FF2FG3F|E2AGF3A|
A2d2B2BG|E2AGF3F|F2F2G2GF|E2DCD4||
BBBcd4|c2cBA3A|B2BAG2B2|A2AEF3A|
A2d2B2BG|E2AGF4|FF3G2GF|E2AGF4|
A2AdB2BG|E2AGF3F|F2F2GGGF/2F/2|E2DCD3||

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: reggie miles
Date: 14 Oct 02 - 10:25 AM

I saw a piece about the origins of this holiday on, what else, The History Channel the other day. There were two songs that were used in it one was a song sung by Louis Armstrong and the other by a female trio. It may have been the Andrew Sisters. If it was, they were very young in the clip they showed, or it could have been another group like them (three young women singing tight harmonies). The piece of film shot of Armstrong and his band performing the song in a darkened club setting was highlighted by the drummer stepping forward to pantomime playing the on the bones of someone dressed in a skeleton suit. What a hoot! I didn't catch the names of the songs but they seemed good candidates. Does anyone know of this program and the songs that were used in it?

I think there are some other threads with this goal too. I'm sure I mentioned my friend Robert Oneman Johnson's song about vampires called Night Riders, (slightly adult in nature). There's also a silly little tune that I found that was recorded by Arthur Godfrey on a 78rpm called The Man with the Weird Beard that works for children of all ages.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Ariadne
Date: 14 Oct 02 - 03:49 PM

I'm not sure what poem that is from, but I saw it in an Anne of Green Gables book once... something like "Ghosties and ghoulies and long legged beasties and things that go bump in the night, oh lord, deliver us!" *Shrugs*

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Party Ghoul
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 12:19 AM

How about "The Unfortunate Miss Bailey" ("Miss Bailey's Ghost")?

Subject: Lyr Add: OLD MISSUS WITCH
From: Kaleea
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 01:18 AM

When I was teaching classroom music, there were 2 holidays on which we were officially allowed to do holiday music: Valentine's Day & Halloween. I always loved Halloween, & there were lots of songs to be found. But the Halloween music which I love & cherish the most is the wonderful cassette tape recording I made back in the mid-'70s. I was a choir director for the U.S. Army (my dearly departed hubby was a chaplain's assistant) & the priest was listening to some marvelous Gregorian Chant playing on his reel-to-reel. I looked over the state-of-the-art reel-to-reel (all the rage back then!) as I chatted with him, and an idea came to mind, so I asked my husband, & a couple of days later he brought me the coveted tape which I play every Halloween. No music I have ever heard is as scary as this. I asked him to record the Gregorian Chant for me--played backward, on low speed! I usually place a stereo speaker in a window facing out. It's so scary that I have often seen kids walk on the other side of the street to go past my house!
OK--here are a couple of songs the kids liked best:

OLD MISSUS WITCH

(teacher sings): Old Missus Witch
(kids echo): Old Missus Witch
Tell me what you see . . .
"I see a big pumpkin under a tree."

Old Missus Witch . . .
Tell me what you see . . .
"I see a jack-o-lantern under a tree."

Old Missus Witch . . .
Tell me what you see . . .
"I see a black cat a-looking at me."

Old Missus Witch . . .
Tell me what you'll do . . .
"I'll ride on my broomstick & I'll scare you!"


The Ghost of John
(extra fun with a blow-up skeleton in the room!)

Have you seen the ghost of John?
Long white bones with the skin all go-o-o-one.
OO-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo.
Wouldn't it be chilly with no skin on?

The same song is done for Thanksgiving with "Tom" instead of "John"
   (as in "Tom" the turkey)

Boogie Woogie Ghost
(traditional boogie-woogie accompaniment on piano!)

There was a ghost on Halloween who really made the ghostie scene,
He was the Boogie Woogie Ghost, he was the ghostie with the most,
And when the kiddies came around he'd let out with his ghostly sound,
He'd go: Boo Woo Woo--- Woo!

He'd go a spookin' late at night & giving everyone a fright,
He knew some witches, 2 or 3 & they would all go on a spree,
And when the kiddies came around he'd let out with his ghostly sound,
He'd go: Boo Woo Woo--- Woo!

Even though he was kinda spooky,
They all thought that he was kinda cool.
Even though he was a little kooky,
He was still the perfect ghoul. (AHHHHHHHH!!)

So when you're out on Halloween and he appears upon the scene,
Don't give a scream & run away, just ask him if he'll stay & play.
You'll love the Boogie Woogie Ghost, he'll be the one you dig the most.
You'll love his Boo Woo Woo--- Woo!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 04:03 AM

There's anothere Songs for Hallowe'en thread; just to cross reference

Nigel

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 04:07 AM

Also Hallowe'en Songs

Subject: Tal Lin
From: Abby Sale
Date: 28 Oct 02 - 12:49 AM

I was pleased to do Tam Lin tonight at our club. I don't know how well it went over (a capella) but it's a great song & a great Halloween song & I certainly enjoyed it. I do pretty much straight Child A version Child 39A (that's the one Steeleye based theirs on.) I did add a few Anglicazations - change "fast as she could hie" (pronounced 'hee') to "could speed." And the last verse to:
'But had I known, Tam Lin,' she says,
'What this night all I should,
I wad hae pulled out thy two grey eyes,
And put in two eyes o wood.'

Whatever, but I felt if people were going to listen for all that long they should at least have a chance to understand the punch line.

More importantly, while we learn a bit later that she's with child and we know, of course, that Scots in song only require a single sex act to become pregnant - I've always felt a bit cheated that it's never made clear in almost all versions sung just where and when it happened. It's censored out. Well, we know she must leave him some forfeit (a "wad") and we guess that Tam Lin gets to be the one to choose which kind she must pay. Still... so after verse 7, I collated-in verses 7 & 8 from version G.   Seems a better rounded story.

Happy Halloween!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Genie
Date: 28 Oct 02 - 01:14 AM

Long Black Veil
He Had a Long Chain On
Spooky
Silkie (The Great Silkie Of Sule Skerry)
Zombie Jamboree
Dry Bones
Bad Moon Rising
Witchy Woman
Black Magic Woman
Thriller
"If You Could Read My Mind" talks about a ghost from a wishing well.
"The Happy Land" - Scots children's song has a verse about a ghost.
The Unquiet Grave
That Old Black Magic
(Ghost) Riders In The Sky
Waltzing Matilda ( ... and his ghost may be heard as you pass beside the billabong...)

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Aug 03 - 11:49 PM

As I remember the Woblin Goblin...

The woblin goblin on the broken broom, could never fly too high.
For right after take-off another piece would break off
and soon he would be dangling in the sky.
Each evening just as he would leave the ground his radio would say,
"Control tower to goblin, your broomsticks a woblin, you better make a landing right away".

It soon got so he could only fly when the witches carried him piggy back.
Until one day, he used his brain, and bought himself an aeroplane.
So if you look for him on Halloween, you see him zip and zoom.
No harm can be befall him, no longer can they call him, the woblin goblin on the broken broom.


Not sure about the "no harm can befall him", but pretty sure about the rest. Used to sing it in grade school. I would love to find a copy. PA

Subject: Lyr Add: THE WOBBLIN' GOBLIN WITH THE BROKEN BROOM
From: GUEST,Kate
Date: 05 Oct 03 - 02:21 PM

Hi- I found a very faded piece of paper in my Halloween stuf.. circa 1974 or so. A handwritten page, very faded with all of the Lyrics to the Wobblin Goblin!



THE WOBBLIN’ GOBLIN WITH THE BROKEN BROOM
Words and music by Gerald Marks and Milton Pascal.
As recorded by Rosemary Clooney, 1950.

There once was a sad little goblin
Who had a broken broom.
When he went anywhere, it would wobble in the air
And his heart would fill with gloom.
He tried so hard to fix it ev’ry night
But he just couldn’t get it working right.

The wobblin’ goblin with the broken broom
Could never fly too high,
For right at the takeoff,
Another piece would break off
And soon he would be danglin’ in the sky.

Each evenin’ just as he would leave the ground,
His radio would say:
“Control tower to goblin:
Your broomstick is wobblin’.
You’d better make a landing right away.”

It soon got so he could only ride
When the witches took him piggyback;
Until at last he used his brain
And bought himself an aeroplane.

So if you look for him on Halloween,
You’ll see him zip and zoom.
No harm can befall him.
No longer can they call him
The wobblin’ goblin with the broken broom.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: kytrad (Jean Ritchie)
Date: 05 Oct 03 - 06:20 PM

I'm amazed that none of you have heard the Appalachian version of Moira Cameron's, "Lady All Skin and Bones," (near the beginning of this thread). By now I think it's in every elementary-school music book in the country (USA)... Begins:

There was an old woman all skin and bones,   
    OOOOooo- OOOOooo- OOOOooo
She lived down by the old graveyard
    OOOOooo- OOOOooo- OOOOooo

It's on the first record I ever made (Elektra 10" lp)in about 1951, and is one of the songs in my first book, Singing Family of the Cumberlands. Maybe it's also in the Digital Traditions database- I haven't looked as yet. But all children seem to love this song!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Blowzabella
Date: 05 Oct 03 - 07:00 PM

The mention of Tam Lin above, prompts me to say, if you ever get the chance to see Dick miles - go, and get him to sing it - fabulous.

My favourite spine-chilling song at the moment is Florence Wyndham, sung by Tim Laycock but learned, I think, in a folk club in the seventies.

Woman dies, gets buried, husband grieves....
Sexton goes at night to dig up woman and rob her of her valuables...BUT
When sexton tries to cut off woman's wedding ring - woman wakes! Sexton dies - woman returns to husband - who also gets rather a shock!!

It's on Fine Colours

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Donal
Date: 06 Oct 03 - 05:26 AM

Robert Burns' poem 'Halloween' is a good way to learn about old halloween customs
and superstitions, unfortunately it's a fairly difficult read for non-Scots.
                                                                                                               Don.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Joe_F
Date: 06 Oct 03 - 07:01 PM

Likewise Burns's "Tam o' Shanter. A Tale", which is sometimes put on as a performance at Hallowe'en time.

At sings I like to do "Miss Bailey", which has a ghost in it but treats him with delicious 18th-century-style skepticism.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: LadyJean
Date: 06 Oct 03 - 10:33 PM

I don't know the official title of the poem about Alan Gray on the eve of Waterloo. I do know that, when Mr. Chambers recited it at School For Scottish Arts, it scared the Hell out of me. For sheer creepiness, I recommend it highly. [The Dance of Death, by Walter Scott]

You might want to check out "Witches At Halloween" in Katherine Briggs' "British Folktales" for more Halloween traditions.

When carving my Halloween pumpkin, I still sing a song I learned in the first grade, "Punky pumpkin's a happy pumpkin, and do you know why? 'Cause he's a jack o lantern instead of being a pumpkin pie."

Did any of you other mudders go to Miss Sally Sutherland's School for Scottish Arts in Banner Elk North Carolina?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,ned
Date: 07 Oct 03 - 07:48 PM

Pretty good on wobblin' goblin but you're missing the intro verse:

There once was a sad little goblin
Who had a broken broom
When he went anywhere he would wobble in the air
And his heart was filled with glooo-oooom.

He tried so hard to fix it every night.
But he just couldn't get it working right.

Then verse 1) as you have it.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: CapriUni
Date: 08 Oct 03 - 12:10 PM

Anybody got a melody for "Wobblin' Goblin"?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,alease
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 10:23 AM

would love to get hold of a copy of melody as well!

Subject: Lyr Add: LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE (James W Riley)
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 10:17 PM

It ain't a song - but - as a poem - it is close....

this is a favorite from my childhood.

LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE

by: James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916)

INSCRIBED WITH ALL FAITH AND AFFECTION
To all the little children: -- The happy ones; and sad ones;
The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones;
The good ones -- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.

LITTLE Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,
An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--
An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there at all!
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,
An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'-wheres, I guess;
But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an' roundabout:--
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an'-kin;
An' wunst, when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz there,
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,
An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--
You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachurs fond an' dear,
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!


Sincerely,
Gargoyle

I LIKE the people in this thread.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Melbert
Date: 22 Oct 03 - 04:33 AM

How about "The Castleford Ladies' Magical Circle" (Jake Thackray)....

Another light-hearted look at witchcraft.....

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Bev in PA
Date: 23 Oct 03 - 08:49 PM

Complete Wobblin' Goblin Tune for Alice in Montana

The wobblin' goblin with the broken broom could never fly too high,/ 'Cause right at the takeoff, another piece would break off,/ And soon he would be danglin' in the sky.

Each evening just as he would leave the ground/ His radio would say,/ Control tower to goblin, your broomstick is a wobblin'/ You'd better make a landin' right away.


It soon got so he could only ride when the witches took him piggy back/
until at last he used his brain and bought himself an aeroplane!

So if you look for him on Halloween/You'll see him zip and zoom/
No harm can befall him/No longer do they call him/
The Wobblin' Goblin with the broken broom!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Bellowbelle
Date: 23 Oct 03 - 11:28 PM

Okay, here's mine:

http://www.postpoems.com/cgi-bin/displaypoem.cgi?pid=127598


BTW, 'Little Orphant Annie' was my favorite story when I was a kid...no wonder I'm...oh, never mind.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From:
Date: 25 Oct 03 - 09:59 PM

I'm trying to find the lyrics of a Halloween song I learned in elementary school music class. It was in our music book. The lyrics are below with a blank where the missing words would be located. Thank you for your help.

Midnight winds upon the air
Ghosts glide out from everywhere
Green-eyed ghouls dance round and round
______________ without a sound
But with dawn they will sink
back into the ground.

There's a witch upon her broom
Flying way up to the moon
How she swishes through the sky
While the bats go flying by
But with dawn she will sink
back into the ground.

Subject: Wobblin' Goblin
From: GUEST,narcotoboy
Date: 30 Oct 03 - 10:07 PM

lol i was looking for the lyrics to "wobblin' goblin" and I ended up here! :D

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From:
Date: 29 Nov 03 - 01:30 PM

I can't believe the interest in the wobblin' gobblin song! It's Christmas time, but this song is stuck in my head in place of jingle bells. We used to sing this song every autumn at The College School of Webster Groves in St. Louis, under the direction of Mrs. Miller. I wish I could sing it to those of you who want the tune. If I had a piano or something I'd figure it out for you.

Subject: Lyr Add: DON'T GO DOWN TO THE QUARRY
From: Rapparee
Date: 29 Nov 03 - 11:28 PM

I like it 'cause I'm named in it!

----------------

DON'T GO DOWN TO THE QUARRY
(on PP&M's "Such is love" album)

        
DON'T GO DOWN TO THE QUARRY Lyrics

Artist(Band):Peter, Paul & Mary
(Print the Lyrics)


Don't go down to the quarry in the middle of the night
You'll never come back, you'll never be right
We lost Maggie there just last spring
And Big Ben Johnson, he couldn't do a thing

Big Ben Johnson made a bet with Mad Man Mike
That he could cross the quarry in the middle of the night
He got there, 'bout halfway across
When he started sinking down in the red clay moss.

Nearby standin' on the tracks where the trains used to come
Was Mad Man Mike, beatin' on his drum
Laughin' out loud, eyes rollin' in his head
Standin' on the tracks in the Lucifer's stead

With a long red cape and fire in his eyes
He lifted up his hands to the midnight skies
And the thunder start to roll and the lightenin' flashed wild
And Big Ben Johnson start a cryin' like a child.

Don't go down to the quarry, don't, don't go down
Don't go down to the quarry, don't, don't go down
Don't go down to the quarry, don't, don't go down
Down, down, down, down

Then the earth gave a shudder, the quarry start to split
Screamin' down went Johnson into the fiery pit
With a laugh that shivered the center of the bone
Mad Man Mike just standin' there alone

He's callin' all the people, to take their turn
And fall into the pit and eternally burn
Down, down, don't go down
Down, down, down, down

Lucifer's caught on the railroad track
He's howlin' at the moon 'cause he can't come back
And in the evenin' while we're sittin' there in front of the fire
We laugh at old Lucifer before we retire

Don't go down to the quarry in the middle of the night
You'll never come back, you'll never be right
We lost Maggie there just last spring
And Big Ben Johnson, he couldn't do a thing

Don't go down to the quarry, don't, don't go down
Don't go down to the quarry, don't, don't go down
Don't go down to the quarry, don't, don't go down
Down, down, down, down

(Repeat)2x

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Gloredhel
Date: 30 Nov 03 - 01:13 AM

You're named in that song Rapaire? Maybe I'm dense, but might you be Lucifer, then?